When Warehouses Become Detention Facilities
The federal government’s recent decision to reconsider converting a Roxbury warehouse into an immigration detention facility has renewed conversations across New Jersey. While much of the public discussion has understandably focused on immigration policy, the proposal also raises important questions about land use, infrastructure, environmental stewardship, public health, and the role of planning in evaluating complex public projects.
As a professional organization dedicated to advancing planning practice, APA New Jersey is committed to helping planners navigate challenging issues through the lens of sound planning principles, professional ethics, and informed public decision-making. Planning is ultimately about people. Every land use decision shapes human health, safety, quality of life, and the long-term resilience of communities. Whether evaluating a housing development, warehouse, school, hospital, or detention facility, planners have a responsibility to understand not only how a project functions physically, but also how it affects the people who will occupy it and the communities that surround it.
The AICP Code of Ethics reminds planners that our responsibility extends beyond technical compliance. Professional planners are charged with serving the public interest, protecting the health and welfare of communities, promoting meaningful public participation, and carefully considering the long-term consequences of land use decisions. Those ethical responsibilities become especially important when communities are asked to evaluate projects that are both technically complex and emotionally significant.
To help inform that discussion, the 2026 New Jersey Planning and Redevelopment Conference, co-hosted by New Jersey Future and APA New Jersey, featured a timely educational session, “Detention Facilities: The Planning Challenges of Converting Warehouses”. Moderated by Thomas G. Dallessio, FAICP, PP, CPM, FRSA, the session brought together Ben Spinelli, Executive Director of the New Jersey Highlands Council; Creigh Rahenkamp, Principal of Creigh Rahenkamp & Associates; and Fabiola Inzunza, City Planner with the City of Los Angeles, to examine the planning implications of converting warehouse buildings into detention facilities. Together, they explored the environmental, infrastructure, legal, public health, and community planning considerations that accompany projects of this nature.
A Warehouse Is Not Automatically Suitable for a New Use
One of the central planning questions is whether an existing warehouse can simply be repurposed to accommodate a large residential-style population.
Warehouses are typically designed for freight movement and storage, with infrastructure sized for a relatively small workforce. A detention facility introduces an entirely different pattern of use, requiring substantially greater demands on water and wastewater systems, heating and cooling, emergency access, medical services, public safety, recreation, and long-term occupancy. Those changes can extend well beyond the building itself and affect surrounding infrastructure and municipal services.
For planners, understanding these differences is essential to evaluating whether existing approvals, infrastructure, and public facilities remain adequate. The question is not simply whether a building can accommodate a different use, but whether it can safely, responsibly, and humanely support the people who will occupy it while protecting the surrounding community.
Looking Beyond Property Lines
Projects of this scale rarely affect only the parcel on which they are located.
Questions surrounding utility capacity, transportation, emergency response, environmental constraints, and regional infrastructure all become part of the planning conversation. In Roxbury, those questions have been particularly significant because the proposed site lies within the New Jersey Highlands region, where long-term protection of drinking water resources and infrastructure capacity has guided planning decisions for decades. The discussion also highlighted how changes in land use can have regional consequences, influencing infrastructure capacity, environmental resources, and future development opportunities well beyond a single property.
Planning also requires understanding how one project may influence future land use decisions. Infrastructure capacity is finite, and communities must continually balance competing needs such as housing, economic development, environmental protection, and public facilities. Those decisions affect not only today’s residents but future generations who will rely on the same public infrastructure and natural resources.
Planning Is About People
At its core, planning is about people. Every zoning ordinance, redevelopment plan, infrastructure investment, and site plan review exists because people live, work, travel, recreate, and build their lives in the places planners help shape.
Good planning asks not only whether a project complies with regulations, but whether it creates environments that are healthy, safe, functional, and respectful of human dignity. Throughout the discussion, the panel explored how facility location, building design, access to healthcare, recreation, transportation, emergency services, environmental quality, and community connections all influence the daily experiences of the people living inside a facility as well as those living nearby.
The panel also emphasized that listening to affected communities and understanding lived experiences are not political exercises—they are essential components of responsible planning. Considering those broader impacts is not separate from planning; it is fundamental to sound planning practice and consistent with the ethical obligations of the profession.
Professional Planning Requires Both Objectivity and Ethics
Perhaps the most important lesson from the discussion was that controversial projects demand disciplined planning.
Projects that generate strong public opinions require planners to rely on adopted plans, infrastructure analysis, environmental review, applicable regulations, and sound professional judgment rather than politics or emotion. At the same time, professional objectivity should never be confused with indifference. Ethical planning requires practitioners to thoughtfully consider how decisions affect people’s health, safety, dignity, and quality of life while remaining grounded in facts, evidence, and adopted planning policies.
The discussion also reinforced the importance of proactive planning. Communities are better prepared when their master plans, health policies, infrastructure planning, and land use regulations clearly articulate community priorities before difficult proposals arise, rather than reacting after an application is submitted.
The proposed Roxbury immigration detention facility may continue to evolve through legal, regulatory, and public processes. Regardless of the outcome, it serves as an important reminder that planning extends beyond maps, zoning, and infrastructure. At its best, planning protects public resources, strengthens communities, and helps ensure that every land use decision is evaluated with both technical rigor and an understanding of its human consequences.
We invite you to watch the full session and continue the conversation about how planners can thoughtfully navigate complex land use decisions through the principles of sound planning, professional ethics, and a commitment to serving the public interest.